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Episode 30: Keeping it Rolling!
24 Plays18 days ago
We are back on the HFW Shop Talk podcast and excited for a great year underway and the fantastic things to come!
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Transcript
Podcast Relaunch & Hosts' Updates
00:00:08
HFW Industries
And we are back after almost three months plus of not having recorded anything. this is the HFW Shop Talk with me, your partial host, Tucker Holiday, and Jack Watson.
00:00:22
HFW Industries
Hey Jack, how's it going? Excellent. Yeah, I'm going to blame you even though it was totally not your fault. But you were out for almost three months, so we'll say it was your fault. Yeah, so I guess I'll kick it off. So I am now the proud father of two healthy boys now. So I had my son born.
00:00:42
HFW Industries
November 26th of last year, and i have been off on paternity leave taking care of him with my wife, and he has been fantastic. And now for the past month, I have been back to work, which is awful and terrible, and I totally don't miss it at all.
00:01:01
HFW Industries
So it ah' it's been a little bit of change because I've got really used to waking up at 9 instead of waking up for whenever the heck I need to get up to get here by 7. So it's just it's just a little bit of a change, but it's been so great.
00:01:16
HFW Industries
Yeah, I mean, well, you need back work. You've got twice as many kids' mouths to feed now. Oh, my God, yeah. Don't worry. It's not going to get worse. Growing up in a household with four boys. Honestly, I was expecting more of a stack of things to do when I got back, but I still got pretty good stack.
00:01:35
HFW Industries
Yeah, well, he didn't want to drown you, but there are a lot of things that, especially toward the end of your leave, people are like, wow, put it on Tucker's desk. When he gets back, that'll be his responsibility. Yeah, i like those, especially when they're like, yeah, okay, done, fixed. That one one was easy. What else you got?
Exciting New Project: Spray Booth
00:01:52
HFW Industries
yeah well so you've been knocking out we were just talking you were not gonna you've been knocking out a lot of the kind of day-to-day maintenance stuff but come next monday we're finally gonna get down dirty with the your major project for this year yeah which is the giant spray booth addition to the back of our spray shop which like you said due to arrive monday now anytime It's nice to finally have a date. I know it's but we've been we've mentioned on here a couple of times. Obviously, there' but there's been a lot of back and forth, and you've um worked hard on and pushing it forward. I'm excited to see this finally come to fruition.
00:02:28
HFW Industries
it'll i mean, there are a lot of technical benefits of it. We'll be able to reclaim a lot of lot more material than we have previously been able to. um And one of the biggest things will be the just the quality of life in the shop.
00:02:42
HFW Industries
drastically reducing the the noise coming from jet coat. I can't wait to not wear hearing protection in the ah shop because I don't need to, not because I don't have to. Mm-hmm.
00:02:55
HFW Industries
Yeah, it's I mean, it's there will there will still be hearing protection. ah One thing I was told is, you know in a manufacturing environment, even you don't realize how loud it is, just like steady state.
00:03:06
HFW Industries
So it's always a good idea. But the extremely loud noise will be extremely suppressed. I can't wait. can't wait. i can't wait so So what else has been going on in the three plus months I've been off?
Meet Tyler Straub: New Engineer
00:03:20
HFW Industries
A lot of moving parts. We've got ah couple new customers in recently. We've got a couple on the um kind of moving through the pipeline. we I guess i one of the reasons for that is we hired a new application engineer, Tyler st Straub.
00:03:37
HFW Industries
um He met pretty much everyone here, except he did meet you because he works out of Pennsylvania. and he started He was in office for like two weeks, and they were the two weeks just prior to your return. well Welcome to the team, and I hope to meet you next time you are in office.
00:03:54
HFW Industries
Yes, you'll meet Tyler next time he's here. He's doing a great job already, having some booking some good meetings, talking to the right people. Actually bringing some nice work. Excellent. Very soon.
00:04:05
HFW Industries
So that's been a lot of my time working, coaching, and developing Tyler, bringing him into the business. And then I've been on the road a lot too. So I think i think it was Pete Sanisero mentioned.
00:04:19
HFW Industries
He misses seeing me in the shop. I miss seeing him in the shop too and all the guys. But I've cut so I was operations and engineering and kind of moved over into more of the business development sales side. So a lot of good things with that. The one downside is I'm not in the shop as much.
00:04:35
HFW Industries
So it's good. Yeah, the guys like having see you in the shop. You're you're full of energy. That's what we need. That's why I like having the guys that are full of energy. We got a bunch of people like that, and it makes it more fun to work around, right? Absolutely.
00:04:49
HFW Industries
Awesome.
Trade School vs. College: Finding Your Path
00:04:50
HFW Industries
um Well, we're going to keep this one just kind of just, I guess, getting back into it today. But one topic that's been on my mind, it's very prevalent on social media, and especially now we're starting to get into graduation season from college and high school and trade school.
00:05:08
HFW Industries
uh i wanted to touch on why someone might consider a career manufacturing um and then also touch on the this universal debate that i see online which is debating trade school versus college trade school is is all in vogue now you see people to say, oh, skip college and go to trade school or go into manufacturing or whatever.
00:05:30
HFW Industries
um But I think there's a lot of color. And in Tucker, obviously, you and I are both, we both did go to college, but have spent all of our careers in manufacturing. So I want to just kind of touch on that and talk through that a little bit. And i know we both work a lot with high school and college age students.
00:05:49
HFW Industries
So I honestly just want to talk through some considerations you might want to make as you're considering what's coming next in your career. um If I was starting out trying to figure out if I was going to go to a trade school, college or what, I would at least go try and get an internship.
00:06:07
HFW Industries
Figure out what's going on. See what people do. Figure out what I like, what I don't like. Maybe like tinkering. or making it, you don't know until you try it. So you really need to get into a shop, try something out, see what things are doing, even just going to see what people do, because there's a lot of people who don't even know what manufacturing like is.
00:06:34
HFW Industries
it you know You hear the dark, grimy, dirty, It is and it isn't. It all depends on where you go. Go out, find some companies, go take a tour, see what they're doing. If you're interested, I highly recommend say, hey, is there any way you know you could teach me a little bit of this? I can be an intern.
00:06:57
HFW Industries
Or from there, and if you like it, go right into whatever discipline that requires. If you really liked more of the technical side, Stick with college. If you like doing more things with your hands and fixing things, go technical school or even CNC school.
00:07:15
HFW Industries
um It all depends on where you find the most interest in. And if you find once you get into it, if you get into college and you find it's just not for you, there's no shame in stopping.
00:07:28
HFW Industries
quitting is it's not so much quitting as it is finding what you truly are passionate about. Because if you you will find within a year or two, this isn't for me. Right. Oh, I made your voice crack. Yeah, I think that There's i mean, one of the well, first, I think what you said about the internship is great. One thing we focus on is showing off what we do both on social media as well as through the shop tours. We're very open to doing that. We do a lot of shop tours.
00:08:00
HFW Industries
um you know Both as, I guess, sort of like community service, also there is some self-interest because we want to grow the brand and show people what we're all about. But also, like you know I like to show off our team too and show off of all the amazing men and women that build the world around us.
00:08:18
HFW Industries
And you're seeing most manufacturers are willing to do that. um You know, we've realized that we need a certain subset of very skilled, intelligent people.
00:08:29
HFW Industries
And there's no better way to broaden your exposure than doing things like tours, videos, um letting people come in and and see. I've talked to so many people and and kind of.
00:08:41
HFW Industries
um Just had career discussions with people on social media and found so many neat people. So the the exploration phase, I think, is super critical because for so many people, the the I guess the default has been go to college.
00:08:55
HFW Industries
And I totally agree with what you're saying, Tucker. And I think this is all this is the point that people who are pushing the trades make is, why why if you don't know what you want to do, going into tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt is just doing yourself a disservice.
00:09:12
HFW Industries
but And so not that you have to absolutely know what you want to do going into college. but No, you shouldn't. You should't but all should have an idea, but yeah that is really what college should be about is finding yourself. Yeah, but also at the same time, don't don't go in with absolutely zero plan and then spend a ton of money and get into a bunch of debt.
00:09:31
HFW Industries
um When, like I would argue, that's a great ah great path for what you're talking about like an apprenticeship or the um an internship. You know, go in. a lot of those places will pay you, including HFW. If you work at a lot of places for a certain amount of time, you can usually get tuition assistance for a career-related degree.
00:09:49
HFW Industries
So those are things that are great resources and there are so many great ways to get an education, whether that is trade school or whether it is college or whether it's just a you know a one or two week course where someone, whether it's your employer, whether it's a machine tool manufacturer whatever it is will pay a significant portion of if not all of the cost so you you can education you can get in a good education for very little to to zero uh investment of your own i just think especially now when there's a lot of focus on going into or trying to reduce going into a ton of debt that's a great way to do it absolutely
00:10:29
HFW Industries
And I don't understand the debate versus trade trade school versus college. I really don't. ah Either one can get will give you a a good path. I think it's more about what you're talking about, that self-exploration, realizing what you want, and also making it what you like, and and then aligning that with careers.
00:10:46
HFW Industries
and and And looking and being honest with yourself as far as, you know, the career or the income potential of your career. Like if you want to be an artist, that's great. We need artists, we need musicians.
00:10:57
HFW Industries
um But you also have to realize, you know, the the income potential of that versus, say, like a machinist or an engineer um is a lot different. And so it's important to keep that in mind. Yep, absolutely.
The Realities of Trade Careers
00:11:09
HFW Industries
um While we're talking income, another thing, I see people like Mike Rowe and other, I guess, influencers talk about, you know, they throw out these huge dollar figures like Mike Rowe saying you can make $275,000 year plus an electrician And I think i just think it's important to put context on these numbers because you can absolutely make a lot of money in the trades um just as you can in a, you know, a more white collar career like engineering or CEO, CEO or being a lawyer, an accountant or something.
00:11:45
HFW Industries
But there's a lot of sacrifice involved, too, and you don't just walk in on the job make six figures. You don't walk in making a quarter of a million dollars. You're just like, yeah, I'm here. I know. Master Sparky here. know what I'm doing.
00:11:58
HFW Industries
Yeah. you you know There's a lot of sacrifice and tradeoffs, and a lot of the people making that kind of money are working 60, 70, 80, 100 hours a week. um and especially when you're younger that's you can sustain that for a little when you're younger you have time but no money but as you get older you have less time but more money right hopefully yeah well and then you know if you you're making a lot of money that's great but if you're working so much you don't have any time to spend it well then then what's the point of for some guys it's a good thing for other guys that's uh and then the real key balance to life is finding work that you find fulfilling
00:12:35
HFW Industries
that allows you to do the other fun stuff that you truly like. So being able to have a fun job is life changing. Yeah. And finding a place that values you too and where you can, you know, you have that potential. um You know, we really focus on that at HFW.
00:12:53
HFW Industries
think we've got, you know, a pretty good track record of people who have made great careers and who have started, you know, at the bottom of the totem pole and worked their way up, whether it's as a, you know, ah a senior machinist or a lead man or a foreman or, you know all working all the way up into some of the office roles or or management.
00:13:13
HFW Industries
um And I don't think HFW is alone. I think there's so many great manufacturers out out there that offer that. um I guess one comment in closing I would make is, again, I see sometimes you you you'll see the narrative online that the American dream is dead and...
Empowering Women in Manufacturing
00:13:29
HFW Industries
um you know It's very hard to um afford anything in the US. and and you know the It's just very hard for our generation.
00:13:39
HFW Industries
And there are certainly aspects of that that are true. But I think manufacturing in particular, because that's the world that you and I know, um still offers a great path to a a very comfortable life, um you know making good money in a much safer and cleaner environment than maybe in our in previous generations where you can let you know provide a good life for you you and your family and really continue to live that american dream
00:14:08
HFW Industries
absolutely um so yeah that was you know just kind of like an update episode i think hopefully we'll have a lot more to discuss um in a month oh i think we will because in what two weeks ish i think we're going to be visiting the toolpath summit where we will be at mammoth mountain and if anybody listens to this um is going to be there please say hi I want to talk to whoever is going to be there. i want to meet new people. So if you see me, come say hi. And I almost guarantee i will be I'll have stickers on me too. So I am happy to give those away to anybody who comes up to me.
00:14:47
HFW Industries
Yeah, and I am still confirming my plans. Not because I don't want to be there. I'm planning on being there, but I have a lot of different travel plans. I'm all over the place. You can follow a lot of my travels on LinkedIn.
00:15:01
HFW Industries
And we're excited, though. I think I'm meeting new people. i mean met Oh, yeah know real quick before we close. want you to talk about the great event you went to last week. So I went to the manufacturing exchange in Rochester where I got to listen in on a few live podcasts, that one of which starred one my good friend Nush Ahmed and now Brooke Lang,
00:15:22
HFW Industries
who I also met there and they had a very candid discussion on manufacturing and um how to women in the trades are doing such a great job in the sisterhood along with manufacturing automation and general networking with anybody who was there, which will it was such a great event and Nush, thank you for the shout out. I am now giving you one here. So if you are a woman in the trades, please check out the Sisterhood of Trades Discord.
00:15:54
HFW Industries
Be sure to give them a follow on LinkedIn, Discord, and Instagram. They are always looking for more people. Join them. They are a worthwhile community.
00:16:05
HFW Industries
Yeah, I've seen a lot of their work online and it's fantastic to see more women, especially younger women, considering a career in the trades and obviously manufacturing in particular, because we need everyone, whether it's male, female, you know, any race or ethnicity. And then any background too, just because you didn't grow up in a machining family or a construction family, there are careers. Doesn't mean it's not hiding inside you. Oh, absolutely. Well, absolutely. And there are also so many different different support careers. I mean, you know, you're working as a plant engineer, but you have, you know, accounting and finance functions. You have engineering, you have marketing, you have payroll, you have executive assistants, so many different careers that spawn out of these things. And it makes, you there are a lot of different people involved to make this whole ecosystem run just beyond people that are directly
00:16:57
HFW Industries
working in the trades so um it's great to see a lot of that message be spread whether it's through notion in the sisterhood of trades um and as well as all these different avenues that even the event event you went to last week just introducing a lot of new people to each other i think it's great yeah awesome well any other comments before we close i think you've just about wrapped it up jack i think that's going to be it for a good month Awesome. Well, we will be back next month. We'll get back on track here and we're looking forward to a great year.
00:17:28
HFW Industries
Sounds good, Jack. I'll talk to you then. Awesome. Thanks.